December 12
Events * 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh. *1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism. *1531 - Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico City. *1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet. *1812 - French invasion of Russia comes to an end. *1862 - USS Cairo sank on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine. *1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman. *1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is inaugurated. *1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's. *1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India. *1914 - The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%. *1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China. *1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys. *1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia. *1936 - Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang. *1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China. *1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict. *1940 - Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid. *1941 - World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed. * 1941 - World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island. * 1941 - World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. *1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's kills 100 people. *1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people. *1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village. *1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services. *1956 - Commencement of the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign. *1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom. *1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya. *1969 - Strategia della tensione: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed. *1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee. * 1979 - Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam. * 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe. *1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km (9 mi) perimeter fence. *1984 - Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya become the third president of Mauritania after coup d'etat against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the later was attending a summit. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup. *1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division. *1988 - Clapham Junction rail crash killed 35 and injured 100's after two collisions of three commuter trains. One of the worst train crashes in Britain. *1991 - Russian Federation gains independance from the USSR. *2000 - The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore *2006 - Peugeot produce their last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry. Births *1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358) *1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463) *1574 - Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James I of England (d. 1619) *1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671) *1659 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1739) *1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780) *1724 - Samuel Hood, British admiral (d. 1816) *1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829) *1779 - Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865) *1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1865) *1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857) *1791 - Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon (d. 1847) *1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852) *1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879) *1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871) *1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880) *1845 - Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903) *1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920) *1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944) *1864 - Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937) *1866 - Alfred Werner, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919) *1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912) *1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953) *1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928) *1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974) *1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Austro-Hungarian-born rocket engineer (d. 1929) *1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973) *1900 - Sammy Davis, American dancer (d. 1988) *1902 - Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (d. 2003) *1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976) * 1903 - Yasujirō Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963) *1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981) *1905 - Mànes Sperber, Austro-Hungarian-born writer (d. 1984) *1907 - Roy Douglas, British composer and orchestrator *1909 - Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003) *1914 - Patrick O'Brian (Richard Patrick Russ), British author (d. 2000) *1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998) *1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999) *1919 - Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (d. 2001) * 1919 - Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001) *1920 - Fred Kida, American comics artist *1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host * 1923 - Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver *1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City *1925 - Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer * 1925 - Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (d. 2000) *1927 - Honor Blackman, British actress * 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990) *1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer *1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994) * 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician *1930 - Bill Beutel, American Journalist (d. 2006) *1931 - Lionel Blair, British actor and choreographer *1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player *1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico *1938 - Connie Francis, American singer *1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician * 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer *1943 - Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers) * 1943 - Grover Washington, American saxophonist (d. 1999) *1944 - Kenneth Cranham, Scottish born actor * 1944 - Jean Doré, Quebec politician, mayor of Montreal *1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian 2 time Formula 1 World Champion * 1946 - Paula Wagner, American film executive *1948 - Tom Wilkinson, English actor *1949 - Rajnikanth, Indian(Tamil) actor also known as the Super Star of Indian Cinema * 1949 - Bill Nighy, English actor *1950 - Billy Smith, National Hockey League goaltender *1952 - Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, Canadian politician * 1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast *1953 - Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (Kiss) *1954 - Liz Claman, American television anchor *1955 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek business woman *1956 - Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist *1957 - Sheila E., American musician * 1957 - Robert Lepage, Quebec playwright *1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player * 1962 - Mike Golic, former NFL football player *1964 - Sabu, American professional wrestler *1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist *1967 - John Randle, American football player * 1967 - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese composer * 1967 - Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese composer *1968 - Rory Kennedy, American documentarian * 1968 - Laurie Williams, Indian cricket player *1970 - Mädchen Amick, American actress * 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress * 1970 - Regina Hall, American actress *1972 - Nicky Eaden, English footballer * 1972 - Wilson Kipketer, Danish former middle distance runner * 1972 - Kevin Parent, Quebec singer and songwriter * 1972 - Brandon Teena, American hate crime victim * 1972 - Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter * 1972 - Hank Williams III, grandson of Hank Williams *1973 - William Hutton, American engineer * 1973 - Walter Otta, Argentine footballer *1974 - Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer *1975 - Mayim Bialik, American actress * 1975 - Craig Moore, Australian footballer *1976 - Dan Hawkins, British guitarist (The Darkness) *1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player * 1977 - Bridget Hall, American supermodel * 1977 - Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player * 1977 - Nicole, American triplet Playboy models *1978 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress * 1978 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer *1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player * 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player * 1979 - Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist *1981 - Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier * 1981 - Ronnie Brown, American football player * 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket player * 1981 - Stephen Warnock, British footballer * 1981 - Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer *1982 - Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player *1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer *1984 - Daniel Agger, Danish footballer *1986 - Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer * 1986 - Thomas Wansey, English television actor *1987 - Kate Todd, Canadian actress *1989 - Harry Eden, British actor *1991 - Daniel Magder, Canadian actor Deaths * 884 - Carloman *1212 - Geoffrey *1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507) *1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524) *1586 - Stefan Batory, King of Poland (b. 1533) *1685 - John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610) *1751 - Henry St John, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678) *1754 - Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701) *1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700) *1789 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713) *1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733) *1817 - Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia, (b. about 1751) *1843 - King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772) *1858 - Jacques Viger, antiquarian and archeologist, first mayor of Montreal (b. 1787) *1889 - Robert Browning, British poet (b. 1812) * 1889 - Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804) *1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845) *1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844) *1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903) *1926 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849) *1929 - Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836) *1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883) *1941 - Cesar Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915) *1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b. 1879) *1963 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (b. 1903) *1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902) *1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889) *1971 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891) *1976 - Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890) *1977 - Lady Spencer Churchill, wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885) *1980 - Jean Lesage, politician, premier of Quebec (b. 1912) *1985 - Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923) * 1985 - Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938) *1992 - Suzanne Lilar, Belgian esssayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901) *1993 - József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932) *1994 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933) *1996 - Vance Packard, American author (b. 1914) *1997 - Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (b. 1921) *1998 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930) *1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923) *2000 - George Montgomery, American actor (b. 1916) *2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921) *2002 - Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908) * 2002 - Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965) * 2002 - Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917) *2003 - Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan * 2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926) *2005 - Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957) * 2005 - Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936) *2005 - Robert F. Newmyer, American film producer (b. 1946) *2006 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928) * 2006 - Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935) * 2006 - Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917) * 2006 - Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930) * 2006 - Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935) Holidays and observances * R.C. Saints - optional memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe *Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Masá'il (Questions) - First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar *Mexico - Our Lady of Guadalupe Day * Kenya - Jamhuri Day: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December